Label holder for comb binding



15, 1967 E. c. HUMMEL 3,335,508

LABEL HOLDER FOR COMB BINDING Filed Feb. 4, 1965 7 a aw United States Patent C 3,335,508 LABEL HOLDER FOR COMB BINDING Edwin C. Hummel, 1955 MacArthur St., San Pedro, Calif. 90732 Filed Feb. 4, 1965, Ser. No. 430,313 4 Claims. (CI. 40-10) This invention relates to a new and improved label holder, and more particularly to the solution of the problem of labeling books having comb bindings.

A typical comb binding for a book comprises a long, thin, curved, flexible body of sheet plastic extending the length of the book and having integral spaced flexible teeth or fingers protruding from one side of the flexible comb like the teeth of a comb.

These flexible fingers are each curved into a ring-like configuration overlapping the other edge of the flexible comb body and are adapted to be inserted in spaced holes formed along the edges of the pages and cover of the book. These fingers forming a plurality of rings throughout the length of the comb body form the comb body into a cylindrical configuration about which the pages rotate when the book is opened or closed.

The problem with comb bindings for books is that it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to label the bindings themselves, and as a result, when such books are placed endwise on a shelf, or in a bookcase, like other books, the books cannot be identified by title or number because the ends or edges of the books are unmarked. This, of course, makes it necessary to remove the books from the shelf or bookcase to read the title on the front cover.

Previous attempts to label comb binders for identification by using a pen or felt tipped labeling pencil have been unsuccessful. The reason for this is that the comb bindings, being made of plastic, will not accept the ink from either the pen or the felt tipped labeling pencil without bleeding or running or without smearing when touched. Other attempts to label the binding by use of plastic tape to hold typewritten labels on the bindings have likewise been unsuccessful because the plastic tape after a time becomes sticky and yellow, making the books enerally unacceptable.

This invention teaches a solution to the problem of labeling books with comb bindings by providing a label holder which may be easily secured to the comb bindings and which hold labels clearly visible, thus facilitating identification of books While on their edges, and thus eliminating the use of plastic tape to hold labels thereon. This invention comprises a label holder of folded sheet plastic for sandwiching a label therebetween but in full view, and which is further provided with tabs which are disposed between the comb teeth and which overlap or book over the opposite edges of the body of the comb to hold the label holder on the comb binder. This invention utilizes the inherent resiliency of the plastic of which it is made for securing the holder in place on the comb binding, and for facilitating removal of either the label or the label holder therefrom.

As will be pointed out in the more detailed description hereinafter, this invention also teaches a new method of making a label holder for comb binders and additional advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from a more detailed description when considered with the drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a typical book with a comb binding and illustrating the label holder constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the label holder showing the back and front sides unfolded as during a step in the process of forming the label holder;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 4 is a top View of the label holder immediately after the back and front sides are folded to form the label but before the tabs are formed in their final position;

FIGURE 5 is a top view of the label holder in its final configuration;

FIGURE 6 is a top view of the label holder and illustrating the manner of attaching the same to the comb binding;

FIGURE 7 is a top view of the label holder attached to the comb binding;

FIGURE 8 illustrates the manner in which a label is inserted in the label holder; and

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged top, cross-sectional view taken along line 99 of FIGURE 8 and illustrating the label in its final form and attached to the comb binding.

Turning now to FIGURE 1, it can be seen that a book 10 is provided with a comb binding 12 and with a label holder formed in accordance with the teachings of this invention and indicated at 14.

The comb binding 12 comprises an elongated, thin, curved, plastic body 16 with integral curved fingers or teeth 18 which extend from one edge 20 of the binding body and which overlap the opposite edge of the comb binding as at 22 (more clearly shown in FIGURES 6 and 7) to form a series of rings insertable in a series of longitudinally spaced holes 24 in the pages and cover forming the book. In practice, the comb fingers, being formed of plastic, are sufliciently resilient to remain overlapped with respect to the edge 22 of the comb body after insertion into holes 24 and maintain the ring-like configuration to adequately hold the pages and the binding together. These ring-like fingers form the means for opening and closing the book by the movement of openings 24 on the rings.

Turning now to FIGURES 2, 3, 4 and 5 where the process of forming the label holder 14 is depicted, it can be seen that the label holder is formed from a single sheet of clear plastic material into a pair of rectangular pieces 26 and 28- joined together by a pair of relatively narrow strips 30 and 32. The rectangular pieces 26 and 28 can be of any suitable length and preferably of a width substantially the same as the width of the comb body 16 so that when placed on the comb body, the label holder will extend from one edge of the comb body to the other. The rectangular piece 28 is also provided with a pair of tabs 34 and 36 which extend in a direction opposite from the narrow strips 30 and 32, but are positioned so as to be in alignment with the strips 30 and 32. The distances between the strips 30 and 32 and between the tabs 34 and 36 are preferably equal and depend upon the size and spacings of the fingers 18 of the comb binding for a purpose which will be clear from the further description hereinafter.

In addition to the strips 30 and 32 and tabs 34 and 36, the rectangular piece 28 is also provided with a relatively shallow depression 38 which is more clearly depicted in the cross-sectional view of FIGURE 3 to accommodate the thickness of a label to be placed in the label holder. The size and shape as well as the depth of this depression will depend upon the type of label to be used, the rectangular depression 38 being but illustrative of one type.

In the formation of the label holder, strips 30 and 32 are folded at the fold lines 40 and 42 which are centrally located in the strips so that the rectangular piece 28 overlies the rectangular piece 26 to form respectively a front and back wall for the label holder, thus forming a label holder body indicated in its entirety as 44 so that the label may be sandwiched between the back wall 26 and the front wall 28 of the label holder body when inserted in the depression 38. It will be noted that in folding of the strips 30 and 32, a second pair of tabs 46 and 48 (see FIGURE 8 for a clear illustration thereof) are formed, which tabs are of the same size and length as the tabs 34 and 36 but, of course, extend in the opposite direction.

After the tabs 46 and 48 are formed and the holder is pressure formed to its desired curvature such as illustrated in FIGURE 4, all -of the tabs are reformed by heat and pressure so as to form hook-like elements. These hook-like elements are spaced slightly from the back wall 26 near the latters edges to accommodate the thickness of the comb body when the holder is attached to the comb body and in resilient pressure engagement with the back wall 26 near the ends of the hook-like elements.

When the label holder is thus formed, it is ready for insertion of the label, and turning now to FIGURES 8 and 9, it can be seen that the back Wall 26 and the front wall 28 of the holder are separated slightly by bending back the tabs 34 and 36 in a direction more normal to the back wall 26 to provide a space 56 for the insertion of the label 58. This label 58 is preferably inserted from the top or the bottom as shown in FIGURE 8 and is of a size and shape to correspond to the depression 38 so that when the front wall and back wall are again returned to the normal position, the label will be sandwiched in the holder, more clearly illustrated in FIG- URE 8 and, in effect, framed by the outer edges of the front wall 28 as seen clearly in FIGURE 1.

With the label holder thus formed and containing the label, the label holder is ready to be attached to the comb binding and attention is now directed to FIGURES 6 and 7. In FIGURE 6, it can be seen that the first step in attaching the holder to the comb binding is to place one pair of tabs now formed in hook-like elements such as 46 and 48 between the fingers of the tab holder such as between fingers 66, 68, 70 and 72 shown more clearly in FIGURE 1 with the edge of the comb body 20 close to the edge of the holder body. This step will place the label holder in a position such as indicated at A in FIG- URE 6 and the other tabs 34 and 36 are then bent back in opposition to the tendency of the tabs to remain in their hooked configuration, that is, in a direction away from the back wall 26, as indicated by arrow 74, so as to be inserted over the opposite edge 22 of the comb body between :the same fingers 66-72, inclusive. Upon release of the force on the tabs, the tabs will return to their original position due to their resiliency, as shown more clearly in FIGURE 7, and the label holder will then be secured to the comb binding.

It should be noted that in the preferred practice of the invention, the radius of curvature of the label holder is slightly larger than the radius of curvature of the comb binding with which the holder is designed to be used. Thus, once the holder is mounted on the binding, the tendency of the holder to return to its normal curvature resiliently urges the tabs against the inner surface 80 of the comb binding such as seen in FIGURE 9. Stated another way, the label holder tends to resume its original curvature as indicated by the arrow 82 in FIGURE 9, the tabs are effectively clamped against the surface 70. This feature clampingly secures the label holder very firmly to the comb binding for the holder augments the clamping action of the resilient tabs as it tends to return to its normal non-stressed position.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that this invention provides simple and inexpensive manner of solving the problem of labeling books with comb bindings. The label is held clearly visible to a viewer when the book is placed on end on a shelf or in a book case; and, while the label was described as inserted before the label holder was attached to the comb binding in FIGURES 8 and 9, the label could be inserted just as easily after the holder is attached to the comb binding. In other Words, the label 58 can be placed in the holder and the steps of attaching the holder to the binding as described in connection with FIGURES 6 and 7 could follow. Too, it should be apparent that the label can be changed at any time by bending back tabs 34 and 36 and removing the entire label and replacing it with a new one, and it should also be apparent that the label holder itself could be removed as easily as it is attached.

It is also pointed out that when the word plastic is used herein in describing the material used to fabricate the label holder, any suitable clear (transparent) plastic material presently available will suifice so long as the above described label holder can be formed therefrom and subjected to heat for folding and forming such as in forming tabs 34, 36 and 46, 48, and so long as the material has the resilient properties so as to enable the holder to be attached to the comb binding in the manner described. For example, light gauge, thin sheet plastic of about 0.010 inch thick such as that sold under the trade name of Plexiglas or a light gauge, thin sheet cellulose acetate such as sold under the trade name of Celluloid by the E. I. du Pont de Nemours company may be used.

While only a single embodiment of the present invention is disclosed and described herein, it will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art that numerous changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing disclosure and description thereof are for illustrative purposes only and do not in any way limit the invention which is defined only by the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

1. A label holder for use in connection with a comb binding for labeling a book, said comb binding including an elongated, cylindrical body and a plurality of fingers spaced apart and formed into ring-like configurations for inserting into holes in pages of the book, said label holder comprising:

a holder body having a curved back wall and a curved front wall for sandwiching a label therebetween joined togethed by a pair of strips connecting with the edges of said walls;

said strips being folded to form a pair of tabs extending from the edge of said holder body; and

a second pair of tabs extending in a direction opposite from said first pair of tabs, said pairs of tabs being formed in a hook configuration for connecting to the comb body, said tabs being spaced apart so as to be insertable between said fingers and hooked around the edges of the comb body to permit removal and attachment of the holder to the comb body.

2. A label holder for use in connection with a comb binding for labeling a book, said comb binding including an elongated, cylindrically curved body and a plurality of fingers spaced apart and formed into ring-like configurations for inserting into holes in pages of the book, said label holder comprising:

a holding body having a plastic back wall and a plastic front wall connected together by integral strips, said front wall having a depression for receiving a label therein; and

tabs formed of said integral strips extending in one direction from one edge of said holder body and tabs formed on another edge of said holder body and extending in a direction opposite from said first tabs for connecting to the comb body, said tabs being spaced apart so as to be insertable between said fingers and hooked around the edges of the comb body to permit removal and attachment of the holder to the comb body.

3. A label holder as claimed in claim 2, wherein said tabs are integral with said holder body and bent back near the edges of said holder body to form resilient books which may be displaced to be insertable over the edges 5 6 of said comb body and which will assume their hooked References Cited position after being displaced so as to hold the label UNITED STATES PATENTS holder on the comb body.

4. A label holder as claimd in claim 2, wherein said 1,653,346 12/1927 clump 129-4 front and back walls are curved in cross-section but with 5 2505250 4/1950 Klme et 40 152 a radius of curvature larger than the radius of curvature 2,764,161 9/1956 Sobesky 129-1 of said comb body so that the resiliency of said walls 3,186,114 6/1965 Carter 40-10 when stressed to the curvature of said comb body will serve to hold said tabs tight against the comb body to EUGENE cAPOZIOPr'mary Exammer' firmly grip the comb body. 10 W. I. CONTRERAS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A LABEL HOLDER FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH A COMB BINDING FOR LABELING A BOOK, SAID COMB BINDING INCLUDING AN ELONGATED, CYLINDRICAL BODY AND A PLURALITY OF FINGERS SPACED APART AND FORMED INTO RING-LIKE CONFIGURATIONS FOR INSERTING INTO HOLES IN PAGES OF THE BOOK, SAID LABEL HOLDER COMPRISING: A HOLDER BODY HAVING A CURVED BACK WALL AND A CURVED FRONT WALL FOR SANDWICHING A LABEL THEREBETWEEN JOINED TOGETHER BY A PAIR OF STRIPS CONNECTING WITH THE EDGES OF SAID WALLS; SAID STRIP BEING FOLDED TO FORM A PAIR OF TABS EXTENDING FROM THE EDGE OF SAID HOLDER BODY; AND A SECOND PAIR OF TABS EXTENDING IN A DIRECTION OPPOSITE FROM SAID FIRST PAIR OF TABS, SAID PAIRS OF TABS BEING FORMED IN A HOOK CONFIGURATION FOR CONNECTING TO THE COMB BODY, SAID TABS BEING SPACED APART SO AS TO BE INSERTABLE BETWEEN SAID FINGERS AND HOOKED AROUND THE EDGES OF THE COMB BODY TO PERMIT REMOVAL AND ATTACHMENT OF THE HOLDER TO THE COMB BODY. 